Lismore school student Georgia Rhodes turns 17 next week and is one year on from her diagnosis of blood cancer. She recently asked her mum Kylie if she could jump out of a plane and Kylie said ‘not yet - maybe next year’.“She’s invincible now,’ Kylie said.The Lismore App has been following their story over the past year and now, Georgia is eight months on since she had a transplant of bone marrow, donated from her brother.“They joke about sharing the same DNA,” Kylie said. “They laugh that if either one was to commit murder and left blood at the scene, they wouldn’t know who did it.”Now, they and other local families affected by blood cancer are organising a special event on November 2, to raise money for the Leukemia Foundation.Light the Night in Lismore‘Light the Night in Lismore’ will see coloured lanterns take off into the sky from 7.30pm as people remember the ongoing fight against blood cancer in our communities. “The colour blue shows support of someone fighting blood cancer, white if you’ve been diagnosed with it, or gold in memory of someone who’s died from it,” Kylie said.Along with Kylie, two other local mothers are organising the event.“We are all nurses who worked at St Vincent’s Hospital and all have children diagnosed with blood cancer,” Kylie said.“We wanted to give something back to the Leukemia Foundation, which provided us with support and accommodation when we had to stay in Brisbane with the kids when they were receiving treatment at Queensland Children’s Hospital.”One of the children was Jen Rose’s daughter, Sharie - who was Georgia’s also best friend, and died earlier this year.Kylie said slowly, but surely, Georgia is in the process of trying to get back into life again.“She’s having counselling and that’s helping with depression and anxiety,” she said.“She has moments when she says ‘why was I chosen to survive and my best friend died?’. I said to her ‘for you there’s some greater purpose, so go forth and make a difference’.“I think she will.”Pictured: Georgia Rhodes and her mum Kylie.Local blood cancer rates highKylie said it’s surprising how many people are diagnosed with blood cancer in our local community - whether it’s leukemia or lymphoma.“When Georgia was first diagnosed, there were two other girls in the country with that type of cancer,” she said.“Statistically, there are seven people per annum diagnosed with lymphoma cancer.“But I know of four diagnosed in this community with it in a space of 12 months.“It would make an excellent research project - why is it so prevalent here? It’s heartbreaking.“The common denominator locally is that the children had one parent who was a nurse – but the children had different types of cancer. “The Leukemia Foundation is also about bringing awareness to the issue. “I was blind to this before I heard the word ‘your child has cancer’ - I didn’t realise how many were affected.“We don’t know what causes 90% of childhood cancers. It’s not like adult cancers where the causes could be lifestyle factors."Georgia's futureKylie said Georgia is going to back to school again next year, “but she’ll have missed a year and will start year 11, rather than doing the HSC”.“She’s also got her wish granted and we’re getting a golden retriever puppy,” she said.“It’s lifted her spirits so much while she’s at home recovering.“We’re also working through starting her revaccination process. “We need to be careful because she’s susceptible to things like the flu and is still on antibiotics and antiviral medications for another six months to protect her.“She’ll be at the event with the others, sharing their stories of how blood cancer affects people’s lives.”“The community here is so supportive of all of us.“When I feel the love from home, I find the strength to push through."Event details: Light the Night in Lismore The event begins at 5pm on Saturday, November 2, at Lismore Rudby Grounds, 1 Rugby Road, Lismore.Lanterns are scheduled to be released at 7.30pm and cost $10 each, with all proceeds going to the Leukemia Foundation. “You can register before the event and we’ll put a lantern aside for you, or you can buy one on the night,” Kylie said.“Local sporting clubs and business have donated vouchers and prizes in support of the event.“Lismore Rugby Club has given their facility for free and we ask people to give a donation when they arrive.”There will be lucky door prizes and raffle tickets, which are on sale now for $5 each. Prizes include hampers, vouchers, a thermomix, BBQ, vacuum cleaner, Summit Sports fitness and Harvey Norman vouchers.“Georgia’s brother plays for Marist Brothers Football Club and they will cook a BBQ on the night,” Kylie said.“We ask that people bring food to share if they want, and a picnic blanket to set on the oval.“Trinity students are helping with the BBQ too and we’ll have a band playing, face painting and Hernes will bring some speedway cars so the kids can look.”Speeches on the night will be from Georgia, as well as from others who’s lives have been affected by blood cancer.“We want this to become a regular fundraiser and awareness event,” Kylie said.To find out more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/Light-the-Night-Lismore-112714686775580/